this sucks

[D-Orcutt]

My shipment from 2022 came to Atlanta and I used Coppersmith. Coppersmith received the packing list with details of what was in the crate (one warthog). If Coppersmith had a bonded warehouse in Atlanta, it was not used, and my crate sat for close two weeks in the Turkish Airlines warehouse collecting daily storage fees. Coppersmith in Atlanta tried to wash their hands saying they didn't know there was a warthog in the crate. I call BS and show them the e-mail traffic. All I got from Coppersmith for their screw up was $100.00 off the overall bill.

How much did that end up costing?

 

[PARA45]

How much did that end up costing?

My initial quote in writing was for $1115.20.

$215.00 Terminal Handling - Airline charges
$125.00 Airport Transfer
$50.00 Warehousing
$325.00 Customs Entree Fee
$34.00 APHIS + Addt'l Lines Fee
$375.20 Delivery to Texas

Then the surprise of $1235.00 for Airline storage fees.

Airfreight and all documentation, etc, etc was: $1428.47

Dip and pack for 7 animals was: $1150.00

I hope this helps.

 

[HookMeUpII]

How was your experience with Kuche? I'm headed over for a safari with them in June - any recommendations re: what you'd do again / not do again after your last trip? Anything to be wary of? Anything that was an "absolutely can't miss" highlight?

Honestly, I had a blast from start to finish. Here is my report.

SOUTH AFRICA: First-Timer Success With Kuche Safaris May 2023

I am going to go through this day-by-day, post-by-post, to keep things organized. To say it was an amazing experience is an understatement. Day 0: Background, Departure, and Arrival This trip was borne by a random Gunbroker search on a lazy lunch break in April of 2021. I came upon an add for...

www.africahunting.com

There has been some back and forth on here and I can honestly say, my experience was nothing short of fantastic. Koos and his family were incredibly accommodating, kind, and my PH was incredibly good. I don't want to derail this thread.

I am still waiting on my taxidermy but nothing outside of the timeline given to me when I was there. I have no complaints.

 

[HookMeUpII]

My initial quote in writing was for $1115.20.

$215.00 Terminal Handling - Airline charges
$125.00 Airport Transfer
$50.00 Warehousing
$325.00 Customs Entree Fee
$34.00 APHIS + Addt'l Lines Fee
$375.20 Delivery to Texas

Then the surprise of $1235.00 for Airline storage fees.

Airfreight and all documentation, etc, etc was: $1428.47

Dip and pack for 7 animals was: $1150.00

I hope this helps.

I'm seeing the airline storage fees coming up quite a bit with Coppersmith vs SSI, which no one seems to have any with. For having a bonded warehouse, seems like Coppersmith never uses it.

I got a very vague answer with regards to my pig from Coppersmith.

 

[Hyde Hunter]

My only shipment was through Houston but via Cargo ship no added fees worth the 10 hour drive for me to pick it up from coppersmith. I had all finished taxidermy including a warthog. Is this an airport specific problem or a clearing agent problem?

airport, Coppersmiths does a great job

 

[TROPHY SHIPPERS]

I have contacted Trophy shippers by Email, no response. I may try a call soon.
Just got a update from the taxidermist in SA, looks like my animals are still waiting to be done. I am not supper anxious to get them done, kind of dreading the shipping and importing.
I think my 2025 cape buffalo/plains game trip will a lot of pictures. euro mount and finished products, rugs,gun cases etc.

I just sent you a message as we do not see an email. Please check your inbox and we will get in touch with you right away.

 

[62flint]

I just sent you a message as we do not see an email. Please check your inbox and we will get in touch with you right away.

Email sent. Thank you
Things get lost, may have ended up in my spam folder

 

[Scott CWO]

Try this importer if you’re in the central or western US. Don saved me all storage fees by coordinating with African shippers and airlines. I’m not affiliated or rewarded. Just trying to help reduce members costs.

Don Wallace
Vantage Point Services
22513 Marine View Drive
Ste 200
Seattle WA 98198
United States
206.878.8884

 

[Hyde Hunter]

well just got notified by Laura at Coppersmiths that my shipment has cleared agriculture at Chicago was delivered to their warehouse yesterday so looks like 1392.00 in storage now it is waiting for the entry of paperwork with Fish and Wildlife, then I can contact the shipping company to pick it up and bring it home. cannot wait to see how Lauriston Taxidermy did, I know their communication with me sucked

 

[TXhunter65]

I just cleared a crate at DFW this morning. It was my buddy’s finished taxidermy from April/May of 2022. He had 5 shoulder mounts and 7 euro's. Came in on Turkish Airways to their warehouse which is WFS. CBP Ag put a hold on it, so it had to be "trucked" to the CBP warehouse which across the parking lot.

Shipment landed on 4/16/24 at 19:00. Got email from WFS it was ready to go the morning of 4/17/24. Drove to the warehouse, they then informed me CBP Ag put a hold on it and it had to be transferred to CBP's warehouse (even though in Jan. when I cleared my shipment CBP Ag came to WFS warehouse and inspected it there) and there was a fee. Luckily the driver was right there, and he was going to drive it across the parking lot to the other warehouse. Went through the ordeal of paying the transfer fee on my phone because they take no payment at the warehouse. I then took the CITIES permit to Fish and Wildlife because for some reason they now want the original that is in the paperwork in the crate. Then over to the CBP warehouse which at DFW is Dnata Cargo. I waited there till 4:30pm and they told me it would be the next day before they inspected it. Got no word from them on 4/18/24. Called at 08:00 on 4/19/24 said it was ready to go, they sent me an email with the fees, I paid online, drove up there, gave them the air waybill and they loaded me up and away we went.

It's not an easy process. It requires a lot of research and knowledge gained but the fees are now so high to pay them and hire a broker will likely cost well over $2,000...and that's if you've got a good broker that doesn't BS you about storage fees and stays on CPB and FWS to get them to get their paperwork and business handled and they know what they’re doing and who they need to talk to in order to get it done.

On a side note, I do not trust Coppersmith. I've got a story to share but will not share it until I clear my other friend’s shipment next month. I plan to share an in-depth story of my experience in January but I'm going to get Jerome to sign off on it before I post. It will include names of government officials and a broker.

Here are a list of fees for the shipment I cleared today:

Fish and Wildlife fee for CITIES permit: $93.00

WFS Warehouse:
ISC fee $225.00
Other fee $7.06
Upkeep fee $10.50
Transfer fee to Dnata Cargo $77.25
Fee to pay electronically $17.56 (only payment option)
Storage fee $0.00

Dnata Cargo Warehouse (CBP Ag):
Inspection fee $405.00 ($45 min. or $2.50/kg)
Facility fee $90.00
Documentation fee $35.00
Fee to pay electronically $38.82 (only payment option)
Storage fee $0.00

TOTAL: $999.19

This is with $0 in broker fees and $0 in storage fees.

 

[TXhunter65]

I mean no offense, but I’ve repeated this warning over and over again.

Monkeys, Baboons, Bushpigs, and Warthogs are the road to financial ruin. You invite delays and USDA inspection. It just isn’t worth it.

If any of these are dip and pack yes USDA will likely require inspection. You can also add porcupine or any rodent species. Basically swine, primates, and rodents that are dip and pack will most likely require USDA involvement.

If these are finished taxidermy USDA should not be involved. That's not to say they wont insert themselves where they don't need to be. Customs and Border Protection Deparment of Ag will likely place a hold and inspect if you have any of these regardless of if they are finished taxidermy or not.

 

[TXhunter65]

From USDA:

WHAT NEEDS TO GO TO AN APPROVED ESTABLISHMENT?

Unfinished animal trophies, hides and feathers that come from areas ofthe world with the following foreign animal diseases must undergo special processing to protect against introducing those diseases into the U.S.:

 highly pathogenic avian influenza (for bird/poultry items)
 virulent Newcastle disease (for bird/poultry items)
 foot-and-mouth disease (for split-hooved animal items)
 African swine fever (for swine items)

The following items may enter without a permit or foreign certificate and do not need to go to an approved establishment:

 finished/mounted trophies
 cleaned and dried bones, antlers,horns and hooves being used as trophies
 flint dried hides from countries without African swine fever
 trophy/display materials from rabbits, rodents, fish, shellfish and non-human primates

These items may still fall under U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention import restrictions.

 

[sestoppelman]

I had already made up my mind that my next trip would be pictures only, just too much money and too much PITA BS to deal with.
I understand it for the guys making their first couple of trips, and I bought some stuff home from all trips, but wont again.
I cleared a couple of my own shipments with no problems then the last time I tried that I got all sideways with FWS in Seattle and nearly lost it all, but for the quick sending of some documents from SA by my PH and some really good advice and counsel from SSI.
Never again!
Life is too short to dick around with morons and assholes anymore that is absolutely necessary!

 

[JimP]

Life is too short to dick around with morons and assholes anymore that is absolutely necessary!

And this is why I just let SSI deal with any and all of the problems. The money that I pay them goes a long ways in keeping my sanity.

 

[Hunt anything]

well just got notified by Laura at Coppersmiths that my shipment has cleared agriculture at Chicago was delivered to their warehouse yesterday so looks like 1392.00 in storage now it is waiting for the entry of paperwork with Fish and Wildlife, then I can contact the shipping company to pick it up and bring it home. cannot wait to see how Lauriston Taxidermy did, I know their communication with me sucked

I had Lauriston mount my animals from 2018 and they did a good. The communication could have been better but not as bad has I’ve had from some US taxidermist. Post us some pictures if you get a chance.

 

[Hyde Hunter]

well, still waiting. Laura at Coppersmiths sent the paperwork to Fish and Wildlife about April 20 and nothing has happened yet for them to clear and when that is done then she will have customs clear the shipment. Staring to wonder if there is something going on and I am not being told . emailed on May 2nd no answer yet, so called yesterday and left message as she was in the office but tied up according to voice mail. no return call. this really sucks as I do not know if this is normal or not. one bad thing is tomorrow I will have surgery on my hand and according to the Dr. will be out of commission doe a few weeks (trigger finger its called) so when it finally shows up I will have a heck of a time uncrating the items. hope thing hurry up!

 

[TXhunter65]

well, still waiting. Laura at Coppersmiths sent the paperwork to Fish and Wildlife about April 20 and nothing has happened yet for them to clear and when that is done then she will have customs clear the shipment. Staring to wonder if there is something going on and I am not being told . emailed on May 2nd no answer yet, so called yesterday and left message as she was in the office but tied up according to voice mail. no return call. this really sucks as I do not know if this is normal or not. one bad thing is tomorrow I will have surgery on my hand and according to the Dr. will be out of commission doe a few weeks (trigger finger its called) so when it finally shows up I will have a heck of a time uncrating the items. hope thing hurry up!

If I were you, I'd be calling fish and wildlife and finding out when your eDec was filed and why they haven’t cleared your shipment. If there are no primates, swine, rodents or CITES permit animal’s odds are Fish and Wildlife will never put hands on the crate. They will make sure all the paperwork is in order and if so, they'll stamp it clear. Even with warthogs, I had 2 in my shipment in January, Fish and wildlife never left the office.

Don't know the details obviously, but it appears this is going to be a rather large bill when it’s all said and done. It also appears from my prospective Coppersmith has not done the job they were paid to do.
Unfortunately, it appears you may need to get a lot more involved to get results. The more time that goes by the more money Coppersmith is going to attempt to charge you for storage. Attempt being the key word.

Coppersmith should have filed the eDec with Fish and Wildlife as soon as they got all the shipping info from your shipper. Once it was in the air to the US, they should have notified Fish and Wildlife of the expected date of arrival. I'd find out the date the eDec was submitted and see when that was in relation to when your crate arrived. Like I said I'd also call Fish and Wildlife and ask to speak to the inspector your shipment was assigned to and see what is keeping them from clearing the shipment.

I'm sorry for the negative experience but when you're dealing with companies trying to make money and bureaucrats who don't care about time things can get expensive quick especially if you're not on top of both entities.

 

[peacemaker]

there are some back channels you could take to help speed up the process still gonna cost tho.. just hope it works out for you buddy

 

[dchum]

Wow, I’m sorry you are getting messed around with.

I hope it all works out and you can get your memories home with out never wanting to hunt Africa again…

I would absolutely be livid with coppersmith if I were you. What a racket. I reached out to them to bring my first safari home and immediately said never mind based on their interaction with me as a potential client.

Thank you for sharing your ordeal for all of us. Praying for ya to be honest.

 

[fourfive8]

Wow, I’m sorry you are getting messed around with.

I hope it all works out and you can get your memories home with out never wanting to hunt Africa again…

I would absolutely be livid with coppersmith if I were you. What a racket. I reached out to them to bring my first safari home and immediately said never mind based on their interaction with me as a potential client.

Thank you for sharing your ordeal for all of us. Praying for ya to be honest.

Yes, hope this gets sorted out soon for @Hyde Hunter. And yes, years ago I got the same "vibes" from Coppersmith after contacting them about their import brokerage services for my first Africa hunt. My gut said avoid... even with all rave reviews. I did and never had a problem with the import broker I decided to use.